After several failed attempts, we finally made it for dinner at Morganfield's. One dilemma why it took a while was because I always forget to check the map where Uptown is...now I know where it is and how it looks like. I like it. We got there after dining at Le Petit Souffle and having a huge cup of coffee at Costa...so we were kinda (still) hungry but our taste buds weren't up for too much flavor overload. To start with, Uptown mall is undone, to the degree wherein whole sections were closed so there's nothing to see except dine at the few restos that are already open and buy groceries at the crowd-free Rustan's Supermarket (seriously, we were only five customers inside.) The mall is really promising though, with its wood-inspired interiors and huge fountain upfront...not to mention the shops and restaurants queuing to open.
I just gotta share this before I get to bed. I must have looped this song over ten times now because it's that good. I mean, Ed Sheeran is something, but this once little soprano girl is now a young lady and her voice is better than ever. I'm not sure if I heard her sing on TV before, but I'm pretty sure I've seen her performance being shared online years ago and it's one of those amazing things you see but forgot along the years. It was right around New Year when my niece who also sings, Jeryn, reintroduced me to her between our music session. She was sharing her covers on Soundcloud, and I was suggesting some indie artists that I personally like as means to broaden her scope on music since she's only sixteen. It wasn't until tonight when I saw a link on YouTube recommending Jackie Evancho's Safe & Sound cover, but I somehow managed to stumble All of the Stars and it raised the hairs on my arms again. So yeah, listen away. As for my niece, I'll plug her Soundcloud cover of Love Yourself right here:
Taken January 5, 2016...this is the first official photo I took this year, a pleasant surprise on the first Tuesday of the year. My mom is a St. Anne devotee, and has always told me that most of the delightful surprises she experiences happen on a Tuesday since it is said that when you pray for the intercession of St. Anne, a blessing in disguise can unexpectedly happen on a Tuesday. Now, I'm not saying that I prayed to eat cake in Calea, it's just that year after year they have this tradition of closing down the cafe for several days after the New Year and I never get to eat my slice of cake before heading back to Manila because I usually leave on January 5, right after my grandmother's birthday. It breaks my heart, really. This year though, I moved it on the 6th because I always get stressed out with the preparations on the 4th because my lola lives with us, and having to wake up at the break of dawn to catch a flight after hosting a lunch-to-dinner party the day prior is dreadful. With January 5 finally free, I got to visit another lola, a cousin of my father's mother who I love having conversations with, especially hearing stories from the past and gossips that goes on around the city. My parents, my brother and I went to her house, but one of her secretaries told us that we should turn around to Balay Quince because she was waiting for us in Calea. We were all smiles with the news for cake-reasons. One thing that's always at the back of my mind whenever I'm in Bacolod is to eat a slice of Coffee Crunch cake (as seen on the photo...the one up front) since it's one of my favorite cakes evaaaah! It's really light and spongy, not too sweet with a thick whipped buttercream frosting and pieces of chewy honeycomb topping. Urgh. I love it. Getting a chance to eat my favorite slice of cake for free was the pleasant surprise I got that Tuesday afternoon. Yes, it's time I learn to find delight in simple joys, like a slice of cake, in order to make little things be more special...in turn make my day a little less ordinary. So yeah, true enough she was there sitting in wait, monitoring the work of the men who were cutting the unruly branches off the front yard of the establishment. We chatted for a bit, I gave her my gift while she handed over her pabaon and we left before dinner. It made me realize...I should start booking my return flights to Manila after the holidays on the 6th now instead of Jan 5. The other two cakes on the photo is the Window Cathedral or Broken Glass cake...a rather rare dessert to find in cafes just like the elusive Black Sambo. It's basically made up of different fruit flavors of jello cut into cubes and is remolded with a milk and cream based gelatin. The other slice is their Imported Chocolate Cake, a really yummeh-gooey chocolate cake that I'm guessing is made out of Ghirardelli chocolate. It also has an addicting caramel custard center that perfectly blends with the rest of the cake.
